I is a pronoun. we follow news of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, it is easy to think of the people in the tragic scenes as simply inhabitants of a place that is distant and unrelated to us, a place of faceless "victims" of a horrible event. In fact, they are people just like us. Yes, they dress differntly, they speak a different language, and they eat different food than we do, but they are people like us: they have the same hopes, the same dreams, and we all share the smae common humanity.
15 years ago, in a happier time for Urfa, I visited the city. It is one of the nicest places I have been ...the kind of city where I would enjoy living.
When we follow news of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, it is easy
China remains 100% Chinese, but Western clothing styles are prevalent among the young and the affluent. Note that the model in the middle is blonde. There is no mistaking the intent to present the styles as American/European.
This shop window could be in any Western country, but it represents one face of modern China.
The Xi'an People's Hotel was built in 1953, not long after the Communist victory in the Chinese civil war. It was originally designed to be a VIP hotel for visiting party officials and international dignataries and reflects European architectural influences popular in pre-communist China. Following China's move to a capitalist maket economy it was re-designed to top interational standards and is now one of the finest luxury hotels in the country. It retains its original exterior style and preserves its appearance from an era of hard-line communism while offering an interior offering the finest comforts of Paris and London.
P.S. It is one of the most comfortable places I have ever stayed. It reminds me of when I was on a different trip: I was in Chengdu and stayed at a similar hotel originally build for communist party officials but which had been beautifully modernized. I commented to the goverment minder traveling with me that the room I was staying in was designed with detailed perfection ...and he responded that it had been designed by a Westerner, not a Chinese, because the intent was to have it meet Western standards. It certainly succeeded.
China may import styles from the West, but it does so with a Chinese flair ...as shown by the blue color of the traffic markers in Beijing.
It has been several years since I last traveled widely in China and perhaps by now LED displays have replaced the neon signs that were ubiquitous. This would be sad, just as the disappearance of neon from Times Square and Piccadilly leaves some of us nostalgic for the exuberance signage of earlier times.
The bright neon, like many things today in China, echo of the era before World War II when affluence among the upper strata of Chinese society produced excesses of ostentatious consumption.
"Our Own Restaurant" in English was added as a touch of international sophistication. Mr. M. Mouse, seen in the bottom of the photo, is almost certainly used in violation of Disney's copyright ...but this also is very Chinese.
When we follow news of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, it is easy to think of the people in the tragic scenes as simply inhabitants of a place that is distant and unrelated to us, a place of faceless "victims" of a horrible event. In fact, they are people just like us. Yes, they dress differntly, they speak a different language, and they eat different food than we do, but they are people like us: they have the same hopes, the same dreams, and we all share the smae common humanity.
15 years ago, in a happier time for Urfa, I visited the city. It is one of the nicest places I have been ...the kind of city where I would enjoy living.
When we follow news of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, it is easy
When we follow news of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, it is easy to think of the people in the tragic scenes as simply inhabitants of a place that is distant and unrelated to us, a place of faceless "victims" of a horrible event. In fact, they are people just like us. Yes, they dress differntly, they speak a different language, and they eat different food than we do, but they are people like us: they have the same hopes, the same dreams, and we all share the smae common humanity.
15 years ago, in a happier time for Urfa, I visited the city. It is one of the nicest places I have been ...the kind of city where I would enjoy living.
The young people in these photos are now adults, perhaps with children of their own. Many of the older people have probably passed on since then. It is sad to imagine their situation today.
When we follow news of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, it is easy to think of the people in the tragic scenes as simply inhabitants of a place that is distant and unrelated to us, a place of faceless "victims" of a horrible event. In fact, they are people just like us. Yes, they dress differntly, they speak a different language, and they eat different food than we do, but they are people like us: they have the same hopes, the same dreams, and we all share the smae common humanity.
15 years ago, in a happier time for Urfa, I visited the city. It is one of the nicest places I have been ...the kind of city where I would enjoy living.
The young people in these photos are now adults, perhaps with children of their own. Many of the older people have probably passed on since then. It is sad to imagine their situation today.
When we follow news of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, it is easy to think of the people in the tragic scenes as simply inhabitants of a place that is distant and unrelated to us, a place of faceless "victims" of a horrible event. In fact, they are people just like us. Yes, they dress differntly, they speak a different language, and they eat different food than we do, but they are people like us: they have the same hopes, the same dreams, and we all share the smae common humanity.
15 years ago, in a happier time for Urfa, I visited the city. It is one of the nicest places I have been ...the kind of city where I would enjoy living.
The young people in these photos are now adults, perhaps with children of their own. Many of the older people have probably passed on since then. It is sad to imagine their situation today.
When we follow news of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, it is easy to think of the people in the tragic scenes as simply inhabitants of a place that is distant and unrelated to us, a place of faceless "victims" of a horrible event. In fact, they are people just like us. Yes, they dress differntly, they speak a different language, and they eat different food than we do, but they are people like us: they have the same hopes, the same dreams, and we all share the smae common humanity.
15 years ago, in a happier time for Urfa, I visited the city. It is one of the nicest places I have been ...the kind of city where I would enjoy living.
The young people in these photos are now adults, perhaps with children of their own. Many of the older people have probably passed on since then. It is sad to imagine their situation today.
Prof. Rodger Randle
OU Center for Studies in Democracy and Culture
The University of Oklahoma Tulsa
4502 East 41st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135
E-mail: randle@ou.edu
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